With the imminent closure of the Regional Office of Education #2 (ROE #2) in Ullin scheduled for June 30, 2015, Regional Superintendent Janet Ulrich met with Massac County Board of commissioners Tuesday morning to discuss the future of the building located on 10th Street.

Originally donated by Harry Crisp, designated to be used for adult education. Currently it is being used for the CNA, safe school and GED programs and next year the building will be in operation but as of June 30, 2015, “we’re shut down,” she said.

Ulrich was in a state meeting last Wednesday to discuss several issues pertaining to the consolidation of the regional offices. Her office has been encouraged to sell properties and close out accounts. They currently own three properties — the main office in Ullin, a site in Union County and the Crisp building in Metropolis.

Ulrich said neither county school district is interested in the property. The Regional Board of Trustees asked her to approach the county board of commissioners to see if it was interested in taking it over for some form of adult educational service to continue in the future.

She also brought a copy of an intergovernmental agreement from the Williamson County Board of Commissioners, which she has discussed briefly with State’s Attorney Patrick Windhorst. She left the copy for the board and Windhorst to review.

Commission Chair Jeff Weber and commissioners Jayson Farmer and Jerel Childers were in agreement that trying to take over control of the building would be in the best interest of the county. Ulrich would hold a special meeting of the Regional Board of Trustees to move forward with that course of action.

Matesevac also updated the board about the North Avenue and Country Club intersection, stating he had contacted Ameren about the light at the intersection. He also spoke with the company about the possibility of a blinking light, but was not given an exact quote on how the cost. The county would have to sign up for an account and the basic meter, without electricity is $25 per month. He estimates the county would likely have to pay about $50 per month, so when calculating the costs involved, he said the county may be better off trying to purchase solar powered lights, which would cost about $3700 for a pair. A stop sign with an LED light already on top would cost about $1875 per sign.

After discussion, the board and Matesevac agreed they would hold off on the solar powered lights and see how the signs installed on North Avenue work.

The other topic Matesevac talked about was that of complaints the department has received about snow removal, mainly on the remote gravel roads. They put cinders down on gravel roads. “People get frustrated. I understand,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can.”

Matesevac said this year the department has already spent three times the amount budgeted on salt and has used 350 to 360 tons of salt, whereas last year it only used about 150 tons. He said the department has spent a lot of overtime hours toward snow removal. “We’re not a state agency that can work 24-7,” he said.

Matesevac said the first priority are the county highways, which have the highest volume and are pre-treated. Then the department turns to the busiest and most traveled oil and chip roadways. He said there is no written policy regarding snow removal and no map indicating the roads the department focuses on. He told the board going forward he would work on trying to draft a policy and a map that people would be able to see. He said with only five trucks and 10 people working, it is difficult for the department to try to cover all 370 miles of the county.

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